The Cowboy Takes a Bride. Debra Clopton

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СКАЧАТЬ last thing Ross expected to see as he drove out from the back pasture was Sugar Rae disappearing inside his barn. For a minute he thought he’d imagined her, but the sight of her unmistakable vehicle by the road proved that his imagination wasn’t playing tricks on him.

      Shutting off his truck, he crossed the pasture, more than a little curious to find out what Mule Hollow’s newest resident was up to. Maybe her car had broken down? But why would she be driving around out here at nine o’clock, when her apartment was right above her office, and she’d come to Mule Hollow to work?

      At the doors, he peeked inside. She was sitting on a bucket in the center of the barn, obviously lost in thought.

      Today, she was dressed in a gauzy yellow dress that draped over her like a tent, with a pink shirt underneath that matched her pink canvas shoes. The outfit was a far cry from the heels and zebra pants of the day before, but still just as interesting. She wasn’t boring, that was for sure.

      Wondering what she was thinking, he stepped inside. “Please tell me you missed me already and you came out here looking for me,” he teased.

      She shot to her feet with a shriek. “Where did you come from?”

      Not the reaction he’d hoped for. “Whoa there, take it easy. I didn’t mean to startle you. I was coming out of the pasture through the woods and saw you entering the barn.”

      She blew out a gusty breath. “You wouldn’t have surprised me if I hadn’t been so lost in my thoughts. I love your barn. Do you have any idea how wonderful it is? I mean, can you imagine all the history that happened in here? The square dances and maybe church socials…”

      “I like it. There is a lot of history to this place,” he agreed. She was a bundle of surprises. “I didn’t take you as a history buff, though.”

      “Actually, I’m not. I just felt this overwhelming connection when I walked in. It makes what I have to propose to you all the more important.”

      He smiled at her dramatics and was all ears. “Propose away. You have my full attention.”

      Her eyes widened more, if that were possible. “You see, I haven’t come to Mule Hollow just to help Haley. What I really want to do is start up a summer theater. I’m an actress, and I’m looking to find a way to stand out. I need some good reviews to help me land some better parts. And…” she twirled around, arms out “…this is where I think I can do it. Right here in your barn, Ross Denton. And to make it even more perfect, I hear you have some experience in that department. I just couldn’t believe my good fortune when the ladies told me your family has a show out in Branson.”

      He groaned inwardly as his heart sank. An actress. Of all the rotten luck. “I don’t entertain anymore.” He sang to his cows sometimes but he wasn’t going to tell her that.

      She frowned at him, but didn’t let it stop her. Her forehead crinkled. “Okay, but I need a theater. And, well, I have a limited budget, so I was hoping, since your barn would absolutely be the perfect place, that I could talk you into letting me work out a deal with you. I want to do something on Friday nights and maybe twice on Saturday, and the ladies said that would take too much time from the community center for me to run the show there. It would knock out too many other things, since I would practically be taking over the place. I completely understand. And it’s just fine, since I love your barn. This is the place I’m supposed to be. I can feel it. Have you ever just…” she paused, with the most hopeful expression on her face “…you know, just known when something was right?”

      She blinked her big eyes expectantly, and his heart sank lower still. Feeling his frown all the way to his toes, he scooped his hat off his head and tried to gather his thoughts. This was not good.

      When he didn’t say anything, she plunged back in. “I was already thinking of trying something similar to the way they run shows in Branson, so just imagine my excitement when I learned you had experience. But don’t worry, I’m thinking smaller.” As she rattled on, her voice filled with renewed excitement.

      His heart hit rock bottom. “I’m sorry, Sugar, but the answer is no,” he said, and before he did something stupid and said yes, he spun on his heel and stalked out of the building.

      Chapter Four

      “Wait!” Sugar called after Ross, but he just kept on walking. She couldn’t believe this. What had happened to the nice Mr. Flirtatious from yesterday? She hurried out of the barn.

      “Stop,” she demanded as she chased after him. “I don’t understand your attitude.”

      “Look, Sugar,” he said, stopping so quickly she almost ran into him. “I never participate in any of the shows they put on here in Mule Hollow because I don’t do that anymore. And I don’t want it happening on my property. I’m sorry, but the answer is no. And it won’t change.”

      Sugar waved a hand toward the barn. “But it’s just sitting there. It doesn’t even look like you use it.”

      “That doesn’t matter. You’ll have to find another barn. The answer is no.”

      Watching him walk away, Sugar was almost at a loss for words. Almost. “C’mon, Ross. Give me a break here. I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m sure we can work it out. I’m starting auditions pretty soon. I need a place. Work with me here.”

      He spun, as quick as a gunslinger. She immediately got a visual of him on stage.

      His brows creased and she felt a bit of hope, so she smiled encouragingly at him.

      “When exactly are you planning on working for Haley?”

      “From ten till five, Monday through Friday. The rest of the time is mine to do with what I want. And what I want is to set up an old-fashioned strawhat production.”

      “Well, good luck finding another place. Really. I mean that. You want a ride to your car?”

      “What?” The man couldn’t be serious. “No! I don’t want a ride. I want your barn.”

      His jaw tensed as their locked gazes held. The air crackled with challenge. And attraction—though Sugar doused that quickly enough. The man could help her if he wanted, and instead he was being a pigheaded oaf! What a disappointment he was. She glared at him.

      “Look, don’t be stubborn. Hop in and I’ll drive you. I wouldn’t feel right leaving you standing there. I don’t want you getting hurt out here on my property.”

      Now he was back to being Mr. Chivalrous! Sugar took a deep breath and prayed for patience. “I wouldn’t want to put you out, cowboy,” she snapped, and walked away from him down the rutted path, her dress mushrooming with each stomp of her feet. At the sound of his truck starting, she walked faster, regaining her composure as she went. If he thought she’d given up, he was mistaken. She just had to figure out the right way to make a comeback…and she would. After all, she was Sugar Rae Lenox. The comeback kid.

      He drove up behind her in the big truck, but made no attempt to go around her, and she made no move to get out of his path. He followed her until she walked across the cattle guard, and then paused behind her once she reached her station wagon. Gritting her teeth, she smiled sweetly at him, waved, then climbed behind the wheel and slammed the door.

      She СКАЧАТЬ